Canon Kabushiki Kaisha

Hitachi Techno Engineering Co., Ltd.

Mitsuhiko Sato

Hidenori Sunada

Takashi Yokoya

Toshiyuki Miyake

Yutaka Ando

Naoto Watanabe

Shunsuke Nishimura

Hiromasa Maenishi

Ichiro Sasaki

Takayuki Fujii

Akihiro Arai

Akinobu Nishikata

Manabu Yamauchi

Shokyo Koh

Satoru Yamamoto

Takashi Fujimori

Eiichi Motoyama

Yoshihito Osari

Hideyuki Ikegami

Satoshi Kuroyanagi

Tomohisa Itagaki

Katsuhide Koga

Tatsuya Goto

Nozomi Kumakura

Yushi Oka

Keizo Isemura

Tokuharu Kaneko

Shinichi Nakamura

Satoshi Kaneko

Hiroshi Ozaki

Keita Takahashi

Kiyoshi Okamoto

Masahito Yamamoto

Hideki Adachi

Kuniyasu Kimura

Nobuo Sekiguchi

Naoyuki Ohki

Hidenori Matsumoto

Naohisa Nagata

Yuichiro Maeda

Hisatsugu Tahara

Kiyoharu Kakomura

Yasuyuki Aiko

Taisei Fukada

Mitsuharu Takizawa

Yukimasa Iseki

Mitsushige Murata

Hiroto Nishihara

Noriaki Matsui

Akihiko Sakai

Hiroshi Matsumoto

Tadaaki Saida

Takahiko Yamaoka

Shigemichi Hamano

Shunsaku Kondo

Kazuhiko Hirooka

Hajime Kaji

Yoshihiro Funamizu

Isamu Sato

Rieko Akiba

Makoto Homma

Tetsuya Nozaki

Noriaki Mukai

Akihiko Satoh

Isao Abe

The image forming system comprises an accessory device and an image forming apparatus, the accessory device for storing device identification information for identifying its own device, and the image forming apparatus to which the accessory device is connected. The image forming apparatus stores the device identification information of the accessory device included in the image forming system. Further, the image forming apparatus receives a participation notification which requires participating in the image forming system from a new accessory device including the device identification information. If the device identification information included in the received participation notification is not stored, the image forming apparatus stores the information. If already stored, the image forming apparatus discards the participation notification.

Image forming system and method for identifying accessory device and image forming apparatus

An image forming apparatus determines, in a first mode, an image forming condition according to characteristic data, which is input by a user and represents characteristics of a sheet contained in a sheet container, causes a sensor to detect characteristics of a sheet, and stores characteristic data according to a result of the detection into a memory. The image forming apparatus determines, in a second mode with the characteristic data being stored in the memory, an image forming condition, based on the characteristic data stored in the memory before a result of detecting a characteristic of a sheet by the sensor is obtained. The image forming apparatus causes, in the second mode with the characteristic data being not stored in the memory, the sensor to detect characteristics of a sheet, and determines an image forming condition based on a result of the detection.

Image forming apparatus and method for determining image forming condition based on characteristic of sheet to form images

A sheet processing apparatus capable of discharging even a lateral displacement uncorrectable sheet onto a discharge tray without collision with an alignment plate. A finisher conveys a sheet along a conveying path. A shift unit corrects a lateral displacement of the sheet based on a result of detection by a lateral displacement detection sensor. Sheets discharged via the conveying path are stacked on a discharge tray. A pair of alignment plates disposed above the stacking tray are lowered and are moved between a standby position and an alignment position to be brought into abutment with respective opposite edges of the discharged sheet in the alignment position. A finisher controller makes a distance between the alignment plates in a standby position different according to a sheet type, even when a size of the sheet in the width direction is the same.

Sheet processing apparatus equipped with lateral displacement correction function

A sheet stacking apparatus for performing post-processing on sheets received from an image forming apparatus and discharging the processed sheets. A stacking tray has the received sheets stacked thereon. A CPU controls a tray lifting/lowering motor to drive the stacking tray to be lifted or lowered. The CPU determines a vertically moving state of the stacking tray. When the stacking tray is not lowered though the tray lifting/lowering motor is controlled to lower the stacking tray, the CPU notifies the image forming apparatus that a job should be suspended. After notifying, the CPU controls the tray lifting/lowering motor to lift the stacking tray. Then, when the stacking tray can be lifted, the CPU notifies the image forming apparatus that the job is to be resumed.

Sheet stacking apparatus having tray that is lifted and lowered and image forming apparatus

An image forming system which can recognize the network configuration in real time is provided. The image forming system comprises an image forming apparatus for performing image formation and one or more accessory devices capable of establishing communication with the image forming apparatus via network bus. The image forming apparatus stores identification information which identifies each of the one or more accessory devices. The accessory device detects a communication state of the network bus to notify the image forming apparatus or accessory device which is adjacent of occurrence of communication error not via the network bus. When the occurrence of the communication error of the network bus is notified from the accessory device which is adjacent, the image forming apparatus realizes the network configuration in real time and erases the identification information stored.

Image forming system and network management device including an image forming apparatus and an accessory device

A sheet processing apparatus capable of determining whether or not a press operation is to be performed on a folded part of a sheet bundle according to the number of sheets of the sheet bundle. If a folding priority mode is not set on a selection screen displayed on a display unit of the sheet processing apparatus, a controller of the sheet processing apparatus determines whether or not the number of sheets of the sheet bundle indicated in sheet bundle information is equal to or larger than a threshold value. The controller sets a press mode in the sheet bundle information to 'press,' if the number of sheets of the sheet bundle is equal to or larger than the threshold value, and sets the press mode to 'pressless,' if the number of sheets of the sheet bundle is less than the threshold value.

Sheet processing apparatus that performs post-processing, and image forming system having the same

An image forming apparatus comprises: a detection unit which detects the abnormal condition of the image forming apparatus; a storage unit which stores, as history information, information about a type of the abnormal condition and an occurrence situation of the abnormal condition in a case where the detection unit detects the abnormal condition; a determination unit which determines whether an occurrence frequency of the abnormal condition which has newly occurred is higher than a predetermined frequency; and a notification unit which, in a case where an abnormal condition has newly occurred and the determination unit determines that the occurrence frequency of the abnormal condition which has newly occurred is higher than the predetermined frequency, stops the image forming apparatus and notifies the user of trouble information for making a repair request by the user.

Image forming apparatus and control method thereof

Discharging a sheet bundle of a sheet N and a sheet N-1 on preceding sheets already stacked on a stacking tray can cause the already-stacked sheets to be pushed out by the front end of the succeeding sheets. By pressing already-stacked sheets with a bundle pressing member when a sheet bundle of succeeding sheets is discharged, it is possible to reduce the likelihood of the already-stacked sheets being pushed out. Employing the bundle pressing member reduces disturbance of sheet alignment that can occur when a sheet bundle is discharged on already-stacked sheets.

Sheet discharge control by sheet conveying apparatus

When information about weight of a sheet indicates weight less than a predetermined weight, a sheet stacking apparatus configured to align sheets to be stacked on a stacking tray discharges the sheet onto the stacking tray while overlapping the sheet with another sheet by an overlapping unit, and, when the information about the weight of the sheet indicates weight not less than the predetermined weight, the sheet stacking apparatus discharges the sheet onto the stacking tray without overlapping the sheet with another sheet by the overlapping unit.

Sheet stacking apparatus

A sheet post-processing apparatus for performing post-processing on a sheet having an image formed thereon. A stapling section or a scoring section performs processing on a sheet and a sheet bundle. The upper limit value of a sheet count of sheets processable at a time by the post-processing unit is equal to N (N is an integer). A buffer path performs buffer processing for retaining a conveyed sheet, placing the retained sheet and a sheet following the retained sheet one on the other, and conveying the superimposed sheets as a sheet bundle. A CPU controls the buffer path the stapling section or the scoring section such that when the processing is being performed on the sheet or the sheet bundle, the buffer processing is performed on a following sheet, and that the processing is performed on each sheet bundle having been subjected to the buffer processing.

Sheet post-processing apparatus that performs buffer processing, and image forming apparatus

A sheet post-processing apparatus that is capable of aligning a sheet bundle accurately even if sheet types like sheet sizes are different, and is capable of setting a reference position depending on a selected finish. A conveyance unit conveys a sheet. A sheet stacking unit stacks sheets conveyed by the conveyance unit as a sheet bundle. A stapler applies a staple process to the sheet bundle stacked on the sheet stacking unit. A position determination unit determines a staple position at which the staple process is applied to the sheet bundle. An alignment unit aligns the sheets stacked on the sheet stacking unit in a direction perpendicular to a sheet conveyance direction with respect to one of both sides parallel to the sheet conveyance direction. The alignment unit determines the one side as a reference side depending on the staple position determined by the position determination unit.

Sheet post-processing apparatus with an alignment-side determination feature

An image forming apparatus, to which an accessory device is connectable, includes a control unit configured to control the image forming apparatus to start a preparation operation in which an image forming unit can form an image in response to a power supply, and a storage unit configured to store a connecting state between the image forming apparatus and the accessory device. The control unit determines, in response to the start of the power supply, whether the accessory device has been connected to the image forming apparatus before the power supply is stopped, with reference to information stored in the storage unit. Then, the control unit controls the image forming apparatus to start the preparation operation without waiting for the receiving of the information about the accessory device therefrom if the accessory device has not been connected to the image forming apparatus.

Image forming apparatus for starting a preparation operation without receiving information about an accessory device

A printing system includes, for example, a printing apparatus which forms an image on a sheet, and a plurality of dollies which are assigned different dolly identification information and used to stack the sheet discharged from the discharging port of the printing apparatus. The printing system also includes a designation unit which designates a dolly to be used for a print job, and an output unit which outputs alert information when the dolly designated by the designation unit is not allocated at the discharging port.

Printing system, printing apparatus, and dolly designation method

A sheet buffer apparatus retains a sheet to be conveyed to a post-processing unit and is configured to perform post-processing for a sheet. The apparatus comprises a buffer unit configured to perform buffer processing to retain a sheet to be conveyed to the post-processing unit and overlay the sheet to be retained and a succeeding sheet, a determination unit configured to determine whether a sheet is inhibited from the buffer processing by the buffer unit, and a control unit configured, when the determination unit determines that the sheet succeeding the sheet to be retained is a sheet for which the buffer processing is inhibited, to control the buffer unit not to perform the retaining of the sheet to be retained.

Sheet buffer apparatus, post-processing apparatus, control method, and image forming apparatus

Growing community of inventors

Kashiwa, Japan

Mitsuhiko Sato